Homefront Girl

Sometimes out of the blue, Handsome Pants will thank me for all that I do for our family. I always smile, shrug and tell him, 'I love taking care of this family. I'm a “Homefront Girl”.’ And then we go back to our regularly-scheduled activities: Baths, homework, nightly reading, you know the drill.

But today, I want to dig a little deeper on that idea and all that it entails. This label of ‘Homefront Girl’ that I’ve proudly assigned to myself and any other military spouse who wears my same hat. And yes, there are definitely ‘Homefront Boys’, too. I know many of them and they make me so very proud as well. No matter the gender, when you marry a service member, you marry the military and for better or worse, you get the distinction of ‘Homefront’ attached to your pronoun, too. But for me, it’s so much more than a word. It’s a mindset. It’s a mantra. And it’s a way of life. I live on the Homefront and the Homefront lives in me. We are one and that’s how we always shall be. It’s the most dependable part of being a Dependent.

But before I get too carried away and you think I’m tooting my own horn, like I’m some sort of martyr or like I’ve done anything special, I want to make one thing crystal clear: I am married to a man who makes me WANT to do all of this for him and our children. He works a very demanding job and then he comes home and helps with so much and seldom has to be asked. He tends the yard, runs any number of errands and builds Pinewood Derby cars. He always folds the pile of socks once I finish the rest of the laundry, because folding socks makes the dry skin on my hands hurt, but he also knows me well enough to know that I'm far too particular about how the clothing is folded to turn it over easily. He takes our kids on adventures, teaches them, disciplines them and shows them a stellar example of what a man and a father should be. And he trusts me. He lets me make so many decisions for our family, never questioning my logic or reasoning. He gives me the confidence to do everything I need to do to run our home. And I recognize that that's rare. I also recognize that I just described a confidence that often only a ‘Homefront Girl’ can possess and I’m ever-grateful for it.

So, when I call myself a ‘Homefront Girl’, I am referring to so much more than being a spouse, a stay at home mother and a work from home writer and virtual assistant. We live a life that can and has taken my husband away from us for days, weeks and months at a time without much notice. And we survive it. Because he has given me the tools and confidence to know that I can carry the burden on my own. He can leave here and know that I will handle it all, no matter what, and in some cases without certainty that he’ll return home to rejoin us. To me, that's so much bigger than the housewife or Dependent titles so many of us relegate ourselves to. And that's not to pat my own back. I couldn't be a ‘Homefront Girl’ without a husband who believes in me, who trusts me and who knows that above all else, this little family and life we've created together is worth sacrificing for, working tirelessly for, and praising God for. I'm not perfect, and neither is my ‘Homefront Girl’ game, but I dedicate myself every day to getting just a little bit better. And I will defend my Airman and our way of life with every fiber of my being.

In exchange, I get a husband who I can trust with my whole heart. And I don’t just mean in terms of fidelity, financial security and responsible parenting. I mean in terms of my safety. And your safety. And the safety of all lives foreign and domestic. Our service members, as a whole, should have your trust, too. I see so many people sharing their views on our military’s latest deployment to Iran, practically joking about the potential for another Middle Eastern conflict. I see others acting skeptical of our country and our President’s motives for hastily sending our troops overseas. And others still who don’t seem to care about what’s happening at all. But I’m here to tell you one thing: Our military leaders are making the very best decisions for you, and you, and you, and you. For all of us, because at the end of the day, they are tasked with keeping us all safe and acting in each of our best interests, not just their own. I rest my head on my pillow each night knowing my husband has all of our backs, and on the nights that he’s not next to me, it’s because he’s out protecting you.

Speak highly of our military members. Trust them. Pray for them. And if you can’t do any of that, just keep quiet. Because the truth of the matter is that they are doing a job that I’m not strong enough to do or else I’d be doing it, too. And once that idea settles in, I suspect you’ll agree.

The least we can do is trust them. Shown here in this picture are Pup (20 months) and Blu (5 years) escorting their father off to a 7 month deployment. The picture is blurry, but then again, so were my eyes. Tears tend to do that to a mama... 💕

Note: I have no affiliation with Homefront Girl or the associated brand. The use of the term 'Homefront Girl' is purely coincidental and is not meant to infringe on the Homefront Girl brand. Please check out Homefront Girl for some amazing products and content!